Is there any provision under the Income-tax Act, 1961 for a taxpayer to claim any expenditure incurred for the maintenance of the house where he owns only one house, and which is also self-occupied?
A taxpayer is allowed to have a maximum of two houses as self-occupied for the purpose of income tax and the income from such houses, which is called annual value, is deemed to be nil. Since no income is imputed for self-occupied house property, the tax laws do not allow any expenditure for repairs, maintenance etc. except for deduction in respect of interest paid for money borrowed for purchase, construction, repair, renovation of the two self-occupied house properties taken together.
Do note that this deduction in respect of interest paid for self-occupied property is available only if you opt for the old tax regime. Where the house property is let out or deemed to have been let out, then one-sixth of the rent received is allowed as deduction to cover cost of repair and maintenance of the house property.
If one submits Form 15G/H in the beginning of the financial year knowing there will be no taxable income, and later for some reason, maybe by unexpected significant increment in salary or otherwise, one’s income increases which makes one’s income taxable, what is the remedy in such case if one has already submitted the Form 15G/H?
There is no provision in the law to cover the situation mentioned by you. However, in case you have already submitted form no. 15G/15H at the beginning of the year in anticipation of no tax liability and during the year find that your income will become taxable, you can ask the person or entity making the payment to you to deduct the tax from any payment that is due to you. In case no income is payable, you can request the payer to deduct and deposit the tax and you can reimburse the tax deducted to the payer.
Where this is not possible, you can file your income tax return (ITR) and pay any taxes due by depositing the same at a bank and mentioning the income tax challan in your ITR.
I have been a non-resident for the last 15 years. I have investment in fixed deposits (FDs) in India. My income is more than the threshold exemption limit. Do I have to file the return for assessment year 2025-2026? Bank already deducts tax at source (TDS), but it is not enough to cover the income tax liability.
Under the income tax law, one has to file his/her ITR if his/her income taxable in India exceeds the threshold of basic exemption, irrespective of the fact whether one is a resident or a non-resident.
So you will have to mandatorily file your ITR by the criteria of your income exceeding the basic exemption threshold even if there is no tax liability. Since your tax liability is more than the tax deducted, you will have to first pay the tax as self-assessment tax and then file your ITR.
It seems that you have not declared your residential status to the bank and that is why full tax is not deducted by the bank. Please declare your residential status with the bank so that they designate your fixed deposits as NRO deposits and deduct tax at the rate of 30 per cent.
The author is a tax and investment expert and can be reached on jainbalwant@gmail.com
(Disclaimer: Views expressed are the author’s own, and Outlook Moneydoes not necessarily subscribe to them. Outlook Money shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.)
